Patiala, Oct. 24 -- In the wake of the damage caused to the paddy crops due to the floods in the state, chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday urged the Centre to give relaxation in the uniform specifications for paddy procurement. The chief minister, who inspected the ongoing procurement operations in the local grain markets in Bassi Pathana and Morinda, said the farmers of the state had suffered huge loss due to the flood fury. He said in the wake of loss suffered by the food growers due to such inclement weather conditions, the Centre should give relaxation in uniform specifications for paddy procurement because the moisture content, damaged and discoloured grains quantity in paddy had increased. Mann said he had already requested the Union government in this regard to facilitate the farmers as preliminary findings indicated damage and discolouration of paddy in several affected areas due to the floods. Replying to another query, the CM slammed the Union government for "meting out step-motherly treatment" with the state. He said the state had yet to receive the Rs.1,600 crore announced by the Prime Minister for flood relief. The CM said despite massive devastation caused by floods in the state, Punjab was still expected to contribute 170 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy to the national pool. He said elaborate arrangements had been made in mandis to ensure that every grain produced was purchased in a smooth manner. He said till today, 63.49 LMT of paddy had arrived in the mandis, out of which 61.01 LMT had already been purchased. He said in line with the state government's norm to ensure lifting within 72 hours of procurement, an impressive 91.80% lifting had been achieved. Mann further mentioned that payments totaling Rs.13,073 crore had already been made to farmers for the procured grains. The CM said due to the efforts made by the state government, the procurement operation in the mandis had been hassle-free. He said every effort was being made to facilitate the farmers in selling their produce so that they did not face any sort of inconvenience in the mandis. The CM said he will formally extend an invitation to President Droupadi Murmu to attend a series of events being organised by the state government to commemorate the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur....